Modern opens new compressed natural gas fueling station

Pictured from left, Modern COO Gary Smith, Rick Washuta (Modern owner, president), State Sen. George Maziarz, Francis J. Murray Jr. (president and CEO of NYSERDA) and Town of Lewiston Supervisor Steve Reiter at the ribbon-cutting for Modern's new CNG fueling station.

Story and photo by Terry Duffy

"It's not often you get
involved in a project that has so many positive attributes for your community,
your customers, your company."

So commented Gary Smith,
COO of Modern Corporation, Wednesday on the company's newest operation - that
being a compressed natural gas fueling station to complement 15 new CNG-powered
garbage trucks at Modern's Lewiston headquarters on Model City Road.

In a time of sky-high fuel
prices, marked by continuing uncertainty in the Middle East and ever-increasing
worldwide demand, Modern, from the impetus of its owner/president Rick Washuta,
took a bold step ahead into the future of energy efficiency this week with the
startup of CNG fueling services for a number of its vehicles.

Through the efforts of
State Sen. George Maziarz, who chairs the Senate Energy Commission, the company
was able to secure $1.25 million in U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities
funding by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to get
the project under way.

"Without them (Maziarz and NYSERDA) this wouldn't have
happened, if at all, until several years down the road," said Smith.

"He (Maziarz) saw the
value of this project right away," said Smith. "He encouraged NYSERDA to get on
board."

"I see how important it is
to invest in alternative fuels," said Maziarz. "I commend Modern and NYSERDA
for this collaborative effort, as it will not only create job opportunities,
but will also result in a cleaner environment for all residents of Niagara
County."

With funding secured,
Modern went to work with local governments, soliciting vendors and forming
partnerships with utility providers to make it a reality. Support was gained
from Town Supervisor Steve Reiter and the Lewiston Town Board. Soon after, town
permits were approved, and support was realized on the county level from
Legislator Clyde Burmaster and state level from Assemblyman John Ceretto, and
the project began to gel.

Smith praised the role of
its selected vendor, Vocational Energy of Tampa, Fla., for working through the
logistics maze on Modern's behalf and teaming with local utilities and vehicle
vendors to make it all happen in just a matter of months. "We started this
project talking with several vendors. The first one walked away from us."

Of the Vocational Energy
group, he added, "They did a fabulous job, coordinating with National Fuel,
National Grid, the truck vendors to have it all come together at once," said
Smith.

The result is a brand-new
CNG fueling station and 15 new CNG-fueled garbage trucks. Modern expects to
invest an additional $3.9 million into the project and acquire additional CNG
vehicles by the end of 2012 - bringing the number of CNG vehicles to 30, or
about a quarter of its fleet.

"Modern is thrilled to be
involved in a project that is a win-win for us, our customers and the
community," said Smith. "We would also like to thank NYSERDA for its role in
helping to fund this environmentally-responsible initiative. Modern has had a
long history with clean energy projects and we will continue to invest it in
environmentally-friendly solutions in the future."

"The opening of the fueling station at Modern is something that
Niagara County can be proud of," added Maziarz.

NYSERDA president and CEO Francis J. Murray Jr. also lent praise
to the successful Modern-NYSERDA partnership, commenting, "Things like this
just don't happen because someone in Albany thinks it's a good idea. These
kinds of activities come to be as a result of individuals in the public and
private sector."

Murray called natural gas the cleanest burning alternative-transportation
fuel commercially available today, and the most practical in times of tight oil
supplies and very high prices that see no end in sight. "The transportation
sector accounts for 76 percent of the oil consumed in the United States," said
Murray. "Without a comprehensive plan to address this consumption, the number
is projected to reach 72 percent by 2020."

The new operation joins such Modern successes as a
methane-producing landfill, which by means of 11 generators produces 12
megawatts of electricity and powers a 12-acre hydroponic greenhouse, which
harvested 5 million pounds of tomatoes last year.

With its new operations, Modern is among a select handful of like
CNG fueling station operations in the Buffalo and Western New York area. They
include National Fuel truck facilities in Buffalo, Tonawanda and Niagara Falls,
state Department of Transportation facilities in Buffalo and Mayville, a State
Parks fueling station in Niagara Falls and a State University of New York
facility at the University of Buffalo Amherst campus.

"This is really something that we're proud of," commented Washuta
on the new venture.